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1 – 10 of over 4000Faisal Talib, Zillur Rahman and M.N. Qureshi
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between total quality management (TQM) practices and quality performance in Indian service companies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between total quality management (TQM) practices and quality performance in Indian service companies.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical data was collected using a self‐administered instrument that was distributed to 600 Indian service companies. Of the 600 instrument e‐mailed, 172 usable instrument were returned, yielding a response rate of 28.6 per cent. A stratified sampling procedure was utilized to obtain the minimum sample size of 600 from the four chosen service industries (i.e. Healthcare, Banking, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and Hospitality). The data was analyzed using factor, Pearson's correlation, and multiple regression analyses.
Findings
The findings revealed that TQM practices were found to be partially correlated with quality performance of the Indian service companies. It was also found that quality culture was perceived as the dominant TQM practice in quality performance. The other practices such as quality systems, training and education, teamwork, and benchmarking showed a positive relationship with quality performance.
Research limitations/implications
The research paper was limited by including only four industries in the selection of service companies in India, making this a possibly biased selection and it may not be adequate to generalize the results for the entire Indian service companies.
Originality/value
The study has contributed to the TQM literature with a better understanding of the 17 TQM practices and their association with a company's quality performance that will provide valuable knowledge to top‐management of service companies, to refine their current TQM practices and subsequently improve quality performance.
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Facilities management (FM) as a strategic management tool has been an attractive research topic among scholars and practitioners alike for decades. The primary purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
Facilities management (FM) as a strategic management tool has been an attractive research topic among scholars and practitioners alike for decades. The primary purpose of this paper is threefold: to assess the extent of use of FM roles (strategic, tactical and operational); to examine user satisfaction of service quality performance; and to analyse the influence of FM roles on service quality performance using data from Nigeria’s banking sector.
Design/methodology/approach
Relying on exploratory cross-sectional survey, 350 copies of a structured questionnaire were purposively distributed to senior management staff, bank staff, FM supervisors and bank customers in Lagos, Nigeria. One hundred and forty valid responses were returned to give a response rate of 40%. Data collected were analysed using descriptive, Spearman rank correlation and Kruskal–Wallis tests.
Findings
It was discovered that strategic facilities planning, IT planning strategy and real estate decisions are the most important FM roles at the strategic level; resource management, data control and planning change at the tactical level; and implementations, building operations and emergencies at the operation level. Findings equally revealed that visual appealing of materials associated with services (tangibles), insisting on error-free records (reliability), willing to help (responsiveness), having the knowledge to answer questions (assurance) and giving individualised attention (empathy) were the most important service quality performance indicators. Furthermore, the study revealed that strategic FM roles significantly influenced tangibles, reliability and responsiveness of staff and the services. Besides, tactical FM roles significantly influenced all service quality indicators except assurance, while operational FM roles had significant influence on tangibles, responsiveness and empathy.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study has provided first ever insight into the extent of FM strategic roles in the banking sector and influence of FM roles on service quality performance.
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Nelson Oly Ndubisi and James Agarwal
– The purpose of this paper is to examine how innovation and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) affect organizational performance on quality in Asian small enterprise context.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how innovation and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) affect organizational performance on quality in Asian small enterprise context.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing from the strategic management literature, we hypothesize and test the direct and indirect relationship between EO, innovation and quality performance in the context of small information technology (IT) firms in an Asian economy. Data analyses follow standard procedures for testing direct and mediating effects.
Findings
Findings indicate a significant direct and indirect positive relationship between EO dimensions and three types of innovation and quality performance. Innovation mediates in the relationship of EO with quality performance.
Research limitations/implications
The paper adds resource-based view and dynamic capabilities theories to extant strategic management literature. Poor representation of women-owned small firms in the study resulting from low participation of females in the IT business sector is a limitation which needs to be addressed in the future, as it hinders a clearer understanding of the perspectives of women business owners.
Practical implications
The paper contributes to managerial practice by underscoring the need for owner-managers of small enterprises to pursue EO-focused and innovation enhancement strategies in an integrated manner.
Originality/value
An integrated model of EO, innovation and performance, tested in small IT service firms in the context of a developing economy. Context does matter. The combination of a developing country context and the significance of IT enhance the contextual contribution of the paper.
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Zyad M. Alzaydi, Chanaka Jayawardhena, Bang Nguyen, Pantea Foroudi and Maria Palazzo
Alan Miciak and Mike Desmarais
Service quality performance is benchmarked at business‐to‐business and business‐to‐consumer call centers. Differences between call center types are observed including…
Abstract
Service quality performance is benchmarked at business‐to‐business and business‐to‐consumer call centers. Differences between call center types are observed including characteristics of operation, customer ratings of service quality performance, and employee ratings of workplace issues. Business‐to‐business call centers are challenged by customers who have higher expectations for service performance and who are more critical evaluators of organizational service performance. Implications for customer and employee satisfaction and loyalty are discussed.
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Studies of the construct of service quality have traditionally been undertaken from the perspective of the service receiver. More recently, research has focused on both the service…
Abstract
Studies of the construct of service quality have traditionally been undertaken from the perspective of the service receiver. More recently, research has focused on both the service provider's perspective and the service receiver's perspective. In addition, there have also been some triadic network approaches to the study of service quality. However, there has been very little research into sequential service quality in service‐encounter chains (that is, consecutive service performances in a series of service encounters). The incorporation of connected service encounters in services management can improve understanding of sequential service quality in service‐encounter chains. This paper provides a customized construct of sequential service quality and highlights the importance of time, context, and performance threshold in service‐encounter chains. Furthermore, the paper presents a generic five‐phase performance process, and a customized six‐dimensional construct of sequential service quality.
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The purpose of this research is to explore the differences across hospital characteristics (i.e. lean maturity, hospital size, hospital type and ISO 9001) on lean expectation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to explore the differences across hospital characteristics (i.e. lean maturity, hospital size, hospital type and ISO 9001) on lean expectation, lean performance, service quality expectation and service quality performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey instruments were developed from an extensive literature review, validated by experts and tested by statistical techniques. Data was collected from the perspective of care providers in 220 outpatient departments of Thai hospitals with multiple respondents to improve reliability of data. Analysis of variance and independent sample t test were applied for analysis.
Findings
It was found that there are significant differences across lean maturity and hospital size on overall lean expectation and overall lean performance, and across ISO 9001 on overall service quality performance. Overall, service quality expectation and performance have higher mean scores than overall lean expectation and performance.
Originality/value
To the best of author’s knowledge, this is one of the first studies to present insights into the links between Thai hospital characteristics, expected lean and service quality and performance from the care provider viewpoint. Findings form this study can be used to improve individual hospitals or develop healthcare system at national level.
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Evangelos L. Psomas and Carmen Jaca
– The purpose of the paper is to explore the impact of total quality management (TQM) factors on performance dimensions of service companies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to explore the impact of total quality management (TQM) factors on performance dimensions of service companies.
Design/methodology/approach
A research project was designed in the Spanish services sector. Companies that had already participated in activities with regard to business excellence were randomly selected and approached through a structured questionnaire, yielding a sample of 151 responding companies. By analyzing TQM implementation and company performance through the exploratory factor analysis, specific TQM factors and performance dimensions are extracted. The TQM factors that significantly influence the performance dimensions are determined through multiple linear regression analyses.
Findings
According to the findings, the factors describing TQM implementation in service companies concern quality practices of top management, employee quality management, process management, employee knowledge and education and customer focus. Similarly, the performance dimensions revealed concern financial performance, operational performance, customer satisfaction and product/service quality performance. The TQM factors concerning customers, employees and top management significantly affect the performance dimensions.
Research limitations/implications
The subjective data were collected from quality managers of a small-sized sample of companies operating in a European Union country and belonging to different services sub-sectors. Based on these limitations, future research studies are recommended.
Practical implications
By focussing on specific TQM factors, a service company can improve its performance dimensions. In doing so, it can lay the foundations not only to survive but to be competitive in the current global scenario that is characterized by an economic downturn.
Originality/value
This paper describes a reliable TQM model that can be implemented in the services sector and a means by which a service company can improve its performance.
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Nancy Bouranta, Evangelos L. Psomas and Angelos Pantouvakis
The purpose of this paper is to enrich the existing literature by determining the underlying structure (latent factors) of total quality management (TQM) practices and their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to enrich the existing literature by determining the underlying structure (latent factors) of total quality management (TQM) practices and their impact on company performance outcomes in the Greek hotel industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The research questions were examined using a sample of 153 top-and middle-level hotel-quality managers. Exploratory factor analyses, coupled with multiple linear regression analyses, were used to examine the extent to which elements of TQM influence hotel performance.
Findings
The TQM factors revealed by the present empirical research in the hotel industry are the quality practices of top management, strategic quality planning, employee quality management, customer focus and employee knowledge and education. On the other hand, the performance dimensions revealed through the present study are summarized as: financial performance, customer focused performance and service quality performance. The results also confirmed that most of the TQM elements are antecedents of hotel business performance.
Practical implications
Hotel managers/owners using reliable and valid frameworks comprising TQM practices and performance outcomes may better address their efforts by choosing whether to invest in company refurbishing or better train their personnel to maximize hotel performance.
Originality/value
The purpose of this study is to enrich the existing literature by identifying and confirming the enablers and outcomes of TQM specifically within the hospitality industry. Moreover, the relationship between the implementation of TQM practices and superior company performance is also examined due to the past contradictory results regarding this matter.
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Selim Ahmed, Kazi Md. Tarique and Ishtiaque Arif
The purpose of this paper is to investigate service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty in Bangladesh’s healthcare sector. It identifies healthcare quality conformance…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty in Bangladesh’s healthcare sector. It identifies healthcare quality conformance, patient satisfaction and loyalty based on demographics such as gender, age and marital status. It examines the differences between public and private healthcare sectors regarding service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors distributed 450 self-administered questionnaires to hospital patients resulting in 204 useful responses (45.3 per cent response rate). Data were analysed based on reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, independent samples t-tests, ANOVA and discriminant analysis using SPSS version 23.
Findings
Findings indicate that single patients perceive tangibles, reliability, empathy and loyalty higher compared to married patients. Young patients (⩽20 years) have a higher tangibles, empathy and loyalty scores compared to other age groups. The authors observed that private hospital patients perceive healthcare service quality performance higher compared to patients in public hospitals.
Research limitations/implications
The authors focussed solely on the Bangladesh health sector, so the results might not be applicable to other countries.
Originality/value
The findings provide guidelines for enhancing service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty in the Bangladesh healthcare sector and other countries.
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